


Stud.

by coffee666



Series: Bruce/Natasha soul mate series [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, Hulk Needs a Hug, Mentions of alcohol, Nat is the only person who can act stoic while meeting her soul mate, Natasha Needs a Hug, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, bruce is a dork, bruce is still the hulk, calming lullaby, coffee shop AU, hulking out, mentions of smoking, nat and clint work at starbucks, nick fury is their boss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-02
Updated: 2015-06-04
Packaged: 2018-04-02 14:38:39
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4063705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coffee666/pseuds/coffee666
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The words on her wrist are bright, so Natasha knows today is the day she'll meet her soul mate. She's less than thrilled, but resolves to see just what she's dealing with by seeing what she can getting away with making her first words to him be.</p><p>She looked at him and popped her gum loudly.<br/>"Sure thing...stud."<br/>He goes red.</p><p>Prequel to Firewall.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> *shoves every cliche in all at once*

“Where the hell were you?” Clint looked at her in slight annoyance.

“Calm down, I was getting breakfast.” Nat took her spot behind the counter and reached in her hoodie pocket for a pack of gum.

“It’s just, Fury came in and got on my ass about you.” Clint turned away and began putting away newly cleaned mugs. “He says you haven’t been pulling your weight this week.”

“What the fuck? Yes I have—“ Natasha raised her voice.

“I know you have!” Clint turned back to her, holding his hands up. “I told him all about how you stayed in late last week and mopped the whole floor.”

“And what did Fury say to that?” Natasha popped a piece of gum in her mouth and tossed the wrapper into the trash.

“He couldn’t argue with that.” Clint smirked. “But he did say you need to be friendlier with the customers.”

“Oh whatever,” Nat popped her gum loudly. “He’s just looking for shit to complain about.”

“I don’t know…” Clint made sure the sugar jars on the serving side of the counters were full. “You could at least say _have a nice day_ and mean it.”

“I pull my weight around here, and that’s all I should have to do.” Natasha shrugged out of her stripped hoodie and tied on her apron.

“Your words!” Clint’s eyes flicked down to the words etched on the inside of her wrist.

 _‘Damn you, Hawkeye!_ ’ She swears internally. With his keen eye, it’s no wonder he’s had that nickname since middle school.

“Is that why you were out so long?” he passes her a rag and she starts wiping the counter down, thankful for the distraction.

“Nah, I don’t really care.” Nat lied. The words on her wrist had started becoming more pronounced in the last few weeks, and that she’d woken up dreading that today would be the day.

It’s not that she didn’t like guys, or want a boyfriend, it’s just that she knew whoever it was would be the person she’d be with for the rest of her life. That’s quite a letdown for the guy stuck with her, so emotionally unavailable that he’d probably have a better time alone.

“Natasha?” Clint broke her out of her thoughts, and she looked up at him. “You’ve been wiping the same spot over and over again.

“So?” Natasha popped her gum loudly as her cheek grew red. “Just trying to overdo it. Then maybe Fury will get off my ass.”

“What do your words say, anyways?” he asked, trying to snag a glimpse at her wrist. She quickly crossed her arms.

Another reason she’d stalled this morning was that now that her words were legible, she could read them for the first time since they’d faintly appeared a few years back. Of course, she’d always been able to make out what looked like _please_ at the very end.

But that didn’t prepare her for what they actually were, which had her ready to skip work all together. The only reason she didn’t was because she respected Clint too much to leave him to work the shift alone.

“A coffee order.” She mumbled.

“What? Really? That’s hilarious!” Clint laughed.

“Oh shut up, I’ve known people with worse.” Nat checked her watch and saw that they opened in a few minutes. She hoped over the counter and went to change the sign to _open._

“What’s the order?” Clint asked.

Natasha leaned her elbows on the counter and exposed her wrist to him. The words were etched just below the bracelet she wore that Pepper had made her once.  “One decaf and one espresso, please.”  She recited.

“Decaf and espresso? What a weirdo.” Clint laughed.

“Shut up, that’s my soul mate you’re talking about.” Nat smirked.

Customers began filing in as usual. Natasha and Clint served them, brewing coffee as usual. Though Clint was serving one register over, Nat noticed he was listening in any time someone came to her register. She wanted to tell him to knock it off, but there was no way she could chide him with the ever-growing line in front of them.

“Can I get your name, please?” Natasha asked someone who had just ordered.

“Carol.” The blonde woman responded.

As Natasha wrote the woman’s name down on the cup in sharpie, she noticed her words were darker than they’d been even this morning. They could walk through that door any minute, she realized. Hell, they could even be next in line.

Natasha served the next few people with a nervous weight in her stomach. She carefully eyed each person who approached the counter. One person was wearing a wedding ring, so she counted them out. The next person had a child with them, so she counted them out.

Finally, the morning rush slowed to a crawl. Natasha served the last customer in line –a junior high girl – and sighed with relief as she leaned with her back to the counter.

“Rough morning?” Clint asked with a smirk.

“You have no idea. I never wanna smell coffee again.” Natasha said, reusing her favorite complaint about her job.

“Have you thought about what you’re gonna say?” he finished wiping down the counter and tossed the rag over his shoulder.

“Cash or credit.” Natasha smiled.

“You can’t say that.” Clint laughed.

“Well, I’m on the job! What the hell am I supposed to say? _You’re my soul mate! Let’s go to the back room and make-out!”_

“Well you have to say something.” Clint shook his head at her.

“Only he knows what I’m gonna say. It’s on his wrist.” Natasha sighed and checked her watch.

“Let’s practice.” Clint turned to face her.

“What.” Natasha rolled her eyes.

“Pretend I’m him.” Clint said. “I want a decaf and espresso, please.”

Natasha quickly wracked her brain for something to get Clint off her back.

“Sure thing…stud.” She blew a bubble and popped it loudly in his face.

“Oh my god, I dare you to say that to him.” Clint laughed.

“Challenge accepted.” Nat mumbled, smiling to herself.

The after morning slump came as usual. Natasha mopped the floor by the bathrooms and she and Clint prepared the lunch specials.

It was usually around this time, that some friends of theirs would stop by and chat. Nat smiled as Kate walked in.

“Hey Hawkeye.” Kate leaned casually on the counter.

“Hey Katie.” Clint passed her a hot chocolate. “Made this one for ya.”

“Thanks.” She took a sip and smiled at Nat. “Hey Natasha.”

“Hey…stud.” Nat popped her gum.

“What’s she doing?” Kate sked Clint with a laugh.

“She’s practicing what she’s gonna say to her soul mate.” Clint laughed.

“Oh, are you meeting him today? Good for you.” Kate said.

“Thanks…stud.” Natasha was getting too much amusement out of this.

A few people started to trail in after a minute. Natasha didn’t mind serving them as Clint took a break with Kate.

She passed a mocha to a guy, before turning to the next person. He looked somewhat nervous.

“One decaf and one espresso, please.”

Natasha froze, her hand paused mid-air above the register. Out of her peripheral vision, she could see Clint and Kate look up at her, watching. Natasha Romanoff did not get nervous, and she would prove it.

“Sure thing…stud.” She popped her gum louder than intended.

She could hear Kate and Clint burst into hushed giggles as the customer’s eyes went wide. He stepped back slightly from the counter and his eyes flicked down to his wrist before snapping up to meet hers.

She’d been so worried about looking cool that she didn’t even think about how her soul mate was going to react. Why did she have to call him stud? She didn’t actually regret it, it just wasn’t very accurate. He looked more like a geek than a stud, with a pair of glasses stuck in his shirt pocket.

“Oh…um…” he nervously fumbled for his wallet.

“Don’t worry about it!” Natasha said quickly. “I mean, it’s on the house.”

“R-really?” he asked. His eyes went to her nametag. “Thanks Natasha.”

‘ _Honestly, poor guy, he looks like a nervous wreck.’_ Natasha thought.

“It’s no problem…stud.” She grabbed a couple of cups and uncapped her sharpie. “Can I get your name?”

“Bruce.” He said.

Natasha wrote his name on the cups before making the order. She could feel his eyes on her, so she quickly grabbed a napkin and wrote her number down.

Their hands brushed when she passed the drinks to him, and she leaned over the counter, lowering her voice.

“I get off at three. Give me a call, alright?” she smiled with satisfaction as he went red.

“Thanks…okay.” He nods to her, before walking out.

As soon as he’d gone, Clint and Kate start in on her.

“Oh my god, I can’t believe you called him stud.” Clint shook his head.

“Well, he was a stud.” She smiled as she started brewing a new pot of coffee.

“That guy?” Kate asked. “Sure, whatever you say, Nat. He’s your soul mate.” She kicks back the rest of her hot chocolate and tossed the cup in the trash. “Well, I gotta dip. See ya’ Hawkeye….good luck, Nat.”

Clint turned to her. “You told him to call you?” he whispered.

“Yea, so?” Natasha popped a fresh piece of gum in her mouth.

“This morning you said you didn’t care.” Clint smiled knowingly. Natasha wasn’t going to give him that satisfaction. She’d say it outright.

“Well he’s very cute.” She popped her gum with a smirk at Clint’s surprised look. “And kind of a dork. Chicks dig that.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Bruce Banner, a sophomore at ESU was rushed to the ER after what was reported as a gamma radiation explosion destroyed the lab he’d been stationed at. Banner suffered minor injuries, but doctors are unsure of the long term effects.” She read aloud.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *pops gum* anyways, here's another chapter. Why don't you leave me a comment....stud

It was about half-past two when Natasha poured herself an iced coffee and leaned against the counter with a sigh.

“My feet are killing me.” She complain.

Clint didn’t respond. Nat looked over to see his was on his phone, smiling down at the screen.

“Laura?” Nat asked with a smirk.

“Huh?” he glanced up at her. “Uh, yeah. Don’t tell Fury I was on it.” He slipped his phone back into his pocket and looked at her.

“You’re so lucky.” Nat gave him a tired smile. “You and Laura have been together since forever, it’s not weird or awkward between you anyway like it is in the beginning.”

“Aw, somebody bummed that her soul mate hasn’t texted her yet.” He asked sarcastically.

“Shit the hell up. I really don’t really care if he does.” Natasha lied. She took a swig of her coffee. “I don’t have time to date anyways.”

“Natasha…” Clint started, all jokiness gone from his voice.

“If I leave early, promise you won’t rat me out?” Natasha asked him as she began untying her apron.

“I promise.” He said.

Natasha grabbed her hoodie and tied it around her waist before walking towards the doors

“I’ll call you later, I just need to go for a walk or something.” She walked outside.

As she started down the street, she began to realize just how badly she’d kill for a cigarette right about now. She’d began chewing gum to try and kick the nicotine habit, and it’s been working for about a year. Though days were her classes got too stressful, or Fury yelled at her, those are the days when she couldn’t remember why she quit.

Natasha passed by the gym where she and Kate took boxing classes together. She remembered last year when Kate had met her soul mate in the locker rooms after class. Now she was grateful she’d only heard about it through the grapevine, she didn’t need another memory of someone’s happiness to make her feel bad.

Before she knew it, she’d arrived at her apartment building. She didn’t want to go in and change, if there was a chance she might go out again tonight. She checked her phone again for any new messages.

“Come on stud…” Natasha sighed. “You’re letting me down.”

 _‘‘Maybe he has school or work or something’’_ Nat tried to reason with herself as she went upstairs and changed into sweatpants and a t-shirt. _‘’Or maybe he’s just nervous…or he didn’t like you.’’_

She grabbed a bottle of beer from the fridge and sat down on the couch. She hated getting depressed over something so trivial, but that fact that it upset her at all just made her more depressed. She downed half the bottle before an idea popped into her head.

 _“Who says I can’t call him? Duh…”_ she thought with a smile. Sure, she didn’t know his number, and only knew his first name, but all of that meant nothing to the Black Widow.

She’d gotten that nick name her first year of trade school when she’d been able to get past a firewall that even the teacher couldn’t break. Computers, information, and technology, it all came so easy to her.

Nat got out her computer and did a few routine searches of people in the area. She dug around in a few data bases of college students in the city. After a while she smiled and took a sip of her drink.

“Jackpot.” She smirked.

Bruce Banner, twenty three, and a student at ESU.

She took online classes there, but rarely visited the campus, so it was no wonder she’d never seen him before. She searched his name in google and was immediately enthralled in what she found. Several articles about a similar subject popped up. She clicked and read the first one.

“Bruce Banner, a sophomore at ESU was rushed to the ER after what was reported as a gamma radiation explosion destroyed the lab he’d been stationed at. Banner suffered minor injuries, but doctors are unsure of the long term effects.”  She read aloud.

After reading a few more articles on the subject, she could only sit in stunned silence. How could this guy still be alive? All of the article reported the lab being destroyed, and _radiation?_ Wasn’t that what destroyed Hiroshima?

“Damn, Stud.” She sighed to herself. After finding his number online, she saved it in her phone to call him later.

She downed the rest of her beer before settling on the couch and watching tv. It was almost four when she stopped checking her phone. If he didn’t want to call her, then she’d call him. Sitting up on the couch, she felt the buzz of the beer in her head as she hit call.

“Hello?” a gruff voice answered. Natasha suddenly regretted that she wasn’t chewing gum.

“Hey stud.” Natasha said coolly.

 “…Who is this?” there was the sound of shuffling on the other end.

“Natasha Romanoff.” She said her name quickly.

“Who?” genuine confusion.

“Your soul mate.” She kept a calm disposition, despite the hammering of her heart.

“Oh… _oh.”_ She could practically hear him going red on the other end. “Listen,” he started. “I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to call you today…”

“No, I get it.” She told him.

“It’s just, work and stuff…” he said.

“It’s fine.” She assured him. “But I’m working the morning shift tomorrow, so you _better_ come in for another round on the house.”

“Oh, um, alright.” She could hear a slight smile in his voice.

“See you tomorrow, stud.” Just as she hang-up, she heard him ask;

“Hey, wait, how’d you even get this number?”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Please, just don’t make me angry…” he held up his hands.
> 
> “What?” she asked.
> 
> “You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry….” There was a low growl in his voice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo! This story now has a sequel on my page called "Firewall." Go check it.

Natasha walked to work the next morning with the relaxing sounds of her native Russian lullabies playing in her earbuds.  She walked in and gave Clint a bright smile.

“Good morning.” She took her spot behind the counter.

“What’s so good about it?” Clint took a sip of coffee straight from the pot. “I hate that I keep getting put on the morning shift.”

“Eh, it’s not so bad.” Nat smiled.

With the first wave of customers came the familiar face of Nat’s good friend Pepper. The strawberry-blonde dashed to the counter.

“Two coffees please.” She smiled.

“What are you so happy about?” Natasha asked as she got the order.

“By bachelor’s is paying off…I start my first day at Stark Industries today.” Pepper looked the part in a cute pant suit.

“Ooh, good for you.” Nat smiled.

“Oh, and there’s this.” Pepper pushed up her sleeve and showed Natasha her words. _“Nice to meet you, Ms. Potts.”_

“Do you think…do you think it’s going to be Mr. Stark?” Natasha asked, unable to believe it.

“I don’t know…” Pepper couldn’t stop smiling. “I mean, part of me hopes so…but the other part of me knows he kinda comes off as big-headed when he’s on the news…so we’ll have to see.”

“Hey, why don’t you ask Natasha about _her_ soul mate?” Clint laughed from the back of the counter.

“You met them?!” Pepper’s eyes went wide.

“It’s complicated…I’ll have to tell you about it later.” Natasha said quickly, glaring at Clint.

“Alright, you call me tonight then.” Pepper paid and took the drink. “Bye.”

“Bye.” Nat and Clint called.

“So…by complicated…I guess he never called you yesterday?” Clint asked.

“Actually, I called him…and he said he’d come by today.” Natasha said proudly.

“What if – not saying he won’t—“ Clint started.

“If he doesn’t,” Natasha put on her Russian accent. “Well, I have ways of making him talk.”

About an hour later, Natasha perked up slightly when she saw Bruce come in. He looked disheveled and he was sporting a light stubble. He had a nervous demeanor about him as he approached the counter.

“Hey Stud.” Natasha said jokingly.

“Hey…” Bruce wrung his hands nervously.

“These are on the house.” She smiled, plopping down one decaf and one espresso on the counter.

“Natasha—“ Bruce glanced up at her.

“I mean, I didn’t know what else to get you.” She explained. “And you ordered this yesterday.”

“Natasha—“

“And you acted like this was normal, but you gotta admit it’s pretty weird.” She laughed.

“Natasha, can I talk to you.” He said quickly.

“We are talking.” She kept smiling, despite the weight in her chest.

“I meant, in private.” His eyes flicked over to Clint, who was obviously listening in.

“Clint, go clean the bathrooms.” Natasha told him without taking her eyes off Bruce.

“Aw, I just cleaned the—“ he started to complain.

“ _Go.”_ She hissed.

He cursed under his breath as he went around the counter towards the bathrooms.

“What’s up?” she asked bluntly once they were alone.

“Listen, I don’t know how to tell you this.” He leaned in over the counter. “But I don’t think we’re soul mates.”

“What?” Natasha shook her head slightly, as if she wasn’t sure what she heard. “Of course we are.”

Sure, she’d known a few people in her life with bare wrists, but that was it. Either you had a soul mate or you didn’t. And if you did, it was never a mistake. The universe couldn’t make mistakes.

“Me…I’m not…I’m not marriage material.” Bruce said, running a hand through his hair. “I can’t give you children…I wouldn’t be a good husband.”

“Okay, when the hell did I ever say I wanted to marry you?” she asked, her anger rising.

“It’s just, I know that’s what girls want—“ he tried to explain.

“You don’t know shit about me.” She growled. “Or girls at all…”

“I know!” he said quickly. “That’s why I never believed in soul mates! Or that I really had one…that someone was meant for me. I mean _stud_?! That’s been on my wrist since I was fifteen years old. What a joke! Do I look like a stud to you?!”

“Obviously so.” She said flatly. Of course, she didn’t say that the only reason she called him that was to look cool in front of her friends.

“You just need to let me leave…” he told her.

“And what? We’ll never talk to each other again?” she asked.

“Please…just don’t make this hard.” He said. “I don’t wanna get angry.”

“You have no right to pretty much desert me…” Natasha could feel her blood boiling. She hated that she cared so much.

“Please, just don’t make me angry…” he held up his hands.

“What?” she asked.

“You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry….” There was a low growl in his voice.

“Oh, get angry at this, jerk!” Before she even realized what she was doing, she’d reached out and grabbed the front of his shirt and yanked him half-way across the counter, his feet leaving the floor.

“Natasha!” Clint stood in the alcove that lead from the bathrooms. “What are you doing!? Put him down!”

Bruce was looking at her with fear in his eyes. Natasha blinked, realizing what she was doing, and not fully understanding what had come over her. Perhaps it was the sense of betrayal, or the fact that he’d sounded so much like so many other guys she’d gotten in fights with.

She let go, pulling her hand back as he dropped to his feet. The look of fear in his eyes was gone and replaced with anger. He looked at her again, pure rage contorting his features.

Natasha and Clint watched wide eyed as his features began to grow and twist in unfiltered rage. His muscles began to bulge and stretch, he was bursting out of his shirt. She felt Clint grab her arm and pull her down under the counter.

“Dude, what the fuck!?” Clint asked over the sound of several people screaming and going for the doors.

“Oh god, it’s gamma radiation!” Natasha realized. She could hear tables and chairs being smashed in a trample.

“What?!” Clint asked.

Natasha turned and peered over the counter. The store was empty, though the entire floor was taken over by Bruce—no, he was now some sort of hulking green monster. He was yelling in rage, bringing his fists down onto the tiled floor.

“Gamma radiation!” Natasha told him again. “Oh god…”

“Well, this sounds like it’s all your fault….” Clint said. “I mean, he said not to make him angry…”

“And you weren’t supposed to be listening to us!” Natasha stood up, and started for the floor,

“Nat don’t!” Clint grabbed her arm.

“I have to help him!” Natasha insisted.

“Oh we are so fired!” Clint yelled over the sounds of rageful screaming.

“He needs to calm down…” Natasha wracked her brain for something – anything she could do.

“How!? It’s not like you can just sing him a lullaby….”

“Hey, that’s not a bad idea.” Natasha shook his grip loose and climbed over the counter.

She landed on the other side, and carefully approached him. She tried to not look afraid, but it wasn’t easy when he now stood twice his height, with his clothes ripped to shreds. He whirled on her, eyes full of anger.

“Hey…Stud.” Natasha breathed, giving him a nervous smile.

He growled loudly, clenching and unclenching his large fists. Nat reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone. She turned her favorite lullaby up on full volume before carefully setting it down on one of the last tables standing.

The soft music filled the store. It was now the only sound apart from Bruce’s heaving breathing as and stared down at her, and Clint hissing for her to get back under the counter.

“Hey…Stud…look at me.” Natasha held her hand up to him in a motion that had her staring death down. But she could not leave him like this. Even if he was a jerk to her, _this_ was probably the reason.

Ever so slowly, Bruce lifted his large green hand to hers. She carefully curled her fingers around his knuckle, keeping her eyes on his the whole time.

“Hey, you’re gonna be okay…I swear on my life I’m not gonna leave you like this…” she told him, unsure if he could even understand her.

His breathing began to slow and he closed his eyes. The green color started to fade from his skin, and his muscles started to shrink.

***

A little while later was quite a sight to behold in the cafe. Clint had sat all the upturned tables upright, and cleaned up countless spilled cups of coffee, but the place still looked like a tornado had ran through.

He now sat on the counter, feet dangling over the edge, watching Natasha with an amused look on his face. Natasha cross-legged sat on the floor, slowly stroking her fingers through Bruce’s hair, where he laid asleep with his head in her lap. She’d taken the liberty to put her hoodie on him, sipping it up all the way.

“Is he…Is he gonna be okay?” Clint asked, breaking the silence.

“I guess…” Natasha didn’t take her eyes off his sleeping form. “I mean, he seems fine now.”

“We’re so fired…and sued…” Clint sighed, looking around the trashed café.

“Who cares?” Natasha looked over at him. “This job was supposed to be a temp thing for us, remember?”

“We said that two years ago.” Clint smiled fondly.

Natasha glanced down again as Bruce began to stir. He sat up, his head leaving her lap.

“What…happened?” he rubbed his head, his eyes shut tight.

“I’m not exactly sure…” Natasha said truthfully.

“You turned giant and destroyed my source of income.” Clint said blunty.

“ _Clint_!” Natasha hissed, shooting daggers at him.

“Oh god…” Bruce moaned. He opened his eyes and looked around at the smashed tables. “Oh my god…oh my god…”

“Don’t worry about it!” Natasha said quickly, her cheeks red. “I hope you don’t mind, I went through your phone and called someone to come help you.”

“Natasha!”

“Oh,” Natasha turned to see the people in the doorway. “They’re here.”

“Natasha!” Pepper dashed in with Tony Stark right behind her. “I was with Tony when he got the call. When I heard you were in trouble…”

“I’m not in trouble.” Natasha said quickly. “Everything is under control.

“Hey, man!” Tony stood above Bruce, who was still sitting on the floor. “I thought we had a record of twelve days without an incident! Why’d you blow it!?” he gave a good natured laugh before offering Bruce his hand and helping him up.

Bruce didn’t answer, he just leaned on Tony’s shoulder and sighed.

“Are you gonna be okay?” Natasha asked, standing up.

“Don’t worry about me…” Bruce looked around the store again and sighed.

“And don’t you worry about this place.” Tony said, turning to Pepper. “Pepper, make a note; we’re gonna buy this place and fix it up. I’m talking new tables, new chairs, and employee benefits…”

“Yes, Mr. Stark.” Pepper smirked as she quickly typed on her phone.

“C’mon Bruce,” Tony started for the door. “You can take a nap in the limo.”

“Hey wait,” Natasha went around the counter to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of orange juice. She went back and handed it to Bruce with a smirk. “It’s on the house, I hear citrus is good for gamma radiation.”

He blinked in surprise, but then nodded. “Th-thanks, Natasha.”

“Give me a call if you’re feeling up to it.” Natasha said, looking him in the eye. “Alright, Stud?”

He nodded with a smile, and Pepper followed the two of them out.

“Stud?” she heard Tony laugh. “Does that mean she’s your soul mate?!”

She didn’t hear Bruce’s answer as the three of them got into the limo that was parked on the street. As they drove off, silence fell between Clint and Natasha.

“Do you think Mr. Stark is really gonna buy this place?” Clint asked.

“I wouldn’t doubt it.” Nat said, sitting next to him on the counter. “Especially now that Pepper’s got influence on him.”

The door opened and Kate walked in. She looked around the destroyed café, and at its on two patrons who were sitting on the counter.

“What the hell happened?” she asked. “I thought something weird was going on when I saw a Stark Industries limo outside.”

“Well, there was this giant monster, and—“ Clint started to explain.

“Hey!” Natasha cut him off and gave his arm a shove. “That’s my soul mate you’re talking about….” She smiled.


End file.
